FDA's Gottlieb calls out Walgreens, others for illegally selling tobacco products to minors

Tomi Kilgore - finance.yahoo.com Posted 5 years ago

Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb called out Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.'s pharmacy stores as the "top violator" among pharmacies illegally selling tobacco products to minors, and has sent a letter to management requesting a meeting. Gottlieb said in all, 15 national retail chains have been identified with "disturbingly high rates of violations," including Dow Jones Industrial Average components Exxon Mobil Corp. , Chevron Corp. and Walmart Inc. ,as well as Kroger Co. , Marathon Oil Corp. , Sunoco L.P. and Casey's General Stores Inc. . "Companies should be on notice that the FDA is considering additional enforcement avenues to address high rates of violations," Gottlieb said in a statement. He said the FDA has also sent letter to more than 40 companies seeking information about more than 50 products, including e-cigarette products, that are being illegally marketed, citing concerns that these companies are attempting to capitalize on the "troubling popularity" of Juul Labs Inc.'s e-cigarettes. In December, Altria Group Inc. announced a $12.8 billion equity investment in Juul.

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